Microgaming has always been the leader in producing progressive slot games online. They created the category by introducing the Internet’s very first wide-area progressive jackpot slot game, Cash Splash, in 1998 and then followed up with the online Progressive Jackpot Network (PJN) in 2001. The very next year, Microgaming established the world’s record for the largest jackpot ever won—a single payout worth €1.5 million on the Major Millions slot game.

The appeal of Major Millions was, is and always will be its huge progressive prize. It is quite simply a classic three-reel, three-payline game. In order to claim the top jackpot, three wild Major Millions symbols must be lined up on the third payline. Catching the same combination on the first payline awards €25,000 and on the second payline awards €50,000.

The progressive starts out at €250,000 and the average jackpot won when it hits has been around €540,000. The game has a fixed coin size of one Euro and a three coin max bet. In other words, those who want to go for the big jackpot must play €3 per spin; less than that is not eligible for the major prize.

During regular play, the wild Major Millions symbol also serves as a win multiplier, doubling the line win when one wild appears and quadrupling it when two show up. There are seven other symbols to line up in winning combinations—Cherries, Bars, Double Bars, Triple Bars and three different Sevens in White, Blue and Red.

Of course, tastes in slot games have changed greatly since the turn of the new millennium, so Microgaming has done a bit of updating to keep Major Millions fresh. In 2004, a video slot version with five reels and fifteen paylines was introduced. Officially dubbed “Major Millions (15 lines),” it is often referred to a Major Millions II and features a fixed credit denomination of €0.20.

The top payout on this game is the same as for the original, but the top combination paid only for lining up five Major Millions symbols on the fifteen payline with max bet played, i.e. the same €3 required by the original. Catching the five Major Millions combination on any of the other fourteen paylines wins 8,000 coins.

Major Million II has a military theme. It pays line wins for matching three or more Binocular, Ammo, Cap, Medal, Top Secret, Tank, Airplane, Ship or Major symbols on an active payline at multipliers from 2X to 1,000X. The wild Major Millions substitutes for all symbols except the Scatter, and it triples the line payouts. Catching 3, 4 or 5 Scatters anywhere o the reels pays 3X, 10X or 50X, respectively.

More recently, yet a third version of Major Millions has been introduced by Microgaming—Major Million Mega Spin. In almost all respects, it is the same game as the original, but the few differences that exist are truly “major” ones.

First and foremost, Mega Spin has six sets of three reels instead of just one. They all spin independently of one another so that it only takes a single mouse click to obtain six chances of winning. Lining up three of the wild Major Millions logos on the third payline of any of the games will win the same progressive jackpot as the other two versions. Otherwise, all of the winning combinations and game features are identical to those of the original.

A second change relates to the credit denomination. Instead of the fixed €1 per line, players may chose to play credit sizes of anywhere from €0.10 to €1.00. At first glance, this might entreat selection of the lowest value, but unless Max Bet is wagered, it is not possible to win the top prize on this slot. In fact, the biggest win available is no more than 1,600 credits, so players may actually be better off sticking to the original game if they are set on winning the big one.